Cross Keys: Unity

by Ally Shields

  “Probably not,” her father agreed. “I was angry.”

  She stared at him, nonplused. “You’re not angry anymore?”

  “Not like I was. I still have strong feelings about my daughter’s impetuous behavior.” His eyes strayed to Kam. “But it appears to run in the family.”

  “Hey, I had no part of this,” Kam said, putting a hand on her hip. “Maybe you should at least hear her side of the story.”

  “It would have been more timely before the fact.” Her father’s gaze was back on Esty. “But I’d welcome the opportunity. Thanks to your mother and Seth, I’ve heard parts of it. For the moment, the more immediate concern is Rhyden’s whereabouts and keeping him out of jail.” He gave Seth an unreadable look. “Since my daughters became entangled with the Lormarc men, I haven’t been quite sure which side of the law I’m on.”

  His lips twitched, and Kam cut off an automatic protest. Only a few months ago he’d helped her and Seth escape Brunic’s efforts to detain them on bogus charges of treason. Perhaps he had a point.

  “I assure you it’s the unusual circumstances, sir. Not the bloodline.” Seth kept a straight face, as if he realized Sawyer’s hint of humor and the reprimand were inseparable.

  Kam’s father gave a brief shake of his head. “So, where do we start looking for Rhyden? Did he tell you what he was doing today?”

  “Only that he was seeing Merik and Captain Brunic…which he apparently did. I thought he’d be back hours ago,” Seth said. “When and where was Trevain attacked?”

  “At his home about an hour after Rhyden met with Brunic. A friend found him unconscious. The healers were still working on him when I came to New Orleans.”

  “Someone should tell Ellyn,” Esty said. “I know she cares for him. I should go back to Elvenrude and find her. Then we can all look for Rhyden.”

  “No.” The word echoed three times from her father, Kam, and Seth.

  Esty put a hand on her hip in unconscious imitation of her sister. “Rhyden wouldn’t be in trouble if not for me.”

  “We don’t know he’s in trouble, except from possible arrest,” Seth said.

  Kam intervened before Esty got her back up. “Why don’t you send a note to Ellyn’s mother? She can get a message to your friend about Merik.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Esty took a paper and pen from Seth’s desk and started writing. “But it won’t keep me from looking for Rhyden.”

  Sawyer Ryndel and Seth both looked at Kam. She simply shrugged. How could she tell Esty not to do what Kam herself would do?

  “Before we jump to conclusions, let me look for him first,” Seth said. “He could be visiting family or supervising some aspect of the business on the Elvenrude end. I’ll be back in an hour with or without him.” He looked at the older man. “Make yourself at home. This might be a good chance to, um, talk.”

  Kam followed Seth to the portal. “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “Not yet. I won’t be long. I think the Ryndels need a little family time.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not sure I can help with the talk they need to have. I see both sides. But I suppose one of us should be here if anyone locates Jermon.” Her expression tightened, worry turning her eyes a deeper shade of blue. “Watch your back, my love. We don’t know what’s happened to Rhyden. It may be nothing…but there’s been a deadly arson and an attempted murder in Elvenrude in the last twenty-four hours.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Rhyden rearranged his wool scarf to cut out the chill draft and leaned nonchalantly against the post of the recently lit lantern outside Keiley’s Pub. He tried to appear as if he was waiting for someone, but it wouldn’t be believable for much longer in the dropping temperature. He’d have to change positions.

  Esty’s plan to tail Kurzi Everins to the rest of the rogue gang had merit, and with her in New Orleans, safely out of trouble, this was the perfect time to follow up on his own. But he’d searched the entire village—the man had disappeared. Everins must have anticipated the Guard would be looking for him after last night’s fire.

  Running out of better ideas, Rhyden had returned to watch the tavern where Kam had seen the crossbreed rebel once before. An hour ago, a heavily bundled man entered the pub. He’d glanced over his shoulder before closing the door, and Rhyden was nearly positive the face he’d glimpsed was Everins’s. Rather than tip his hand by following him inside, Rhyden continued to wait. If the man was lying low, he wouldn’t risk exposing himself for an afternoon of drinking. It had to be business, a meeting maybe, and he should be out soon.

  Rhyden rubbed his hands together. It was cold and damp—the kind of weather that worked its way into the bones—and overcast, deepening the gathering dusk. He heard the door open and stepped away from the lamppost as if he was leaving. He kept his head down and glanced sideways as he passed. A man came out of the pub. Not Everins. But the next man was. The two men exchanged a few quiet words, then turned in opposite directions. Everins headed east. Rhyden waited until the first man was out of sight and Everins was far down the street. Then he turned around and followed.

  The rogue leader seemed in a hurry, increasing to a brisk pace. Everins walked with this head down and his focus straight ahead. They turned two corners and curved down a winding lane that was sparsely settled, with more than three or four carriage-lengths between houses. Everins made a sharp left between two stately oaks and disappeared.

  Rhyden paused next to the oaks and studied the dark, narrow path. Everins was already out of sight. Rhyden listened for a second, heard nothing, and hurried to follow before he lost him entirely.

  A twig snapped a second before a burlap bag dropped over his head. Instant darkness and a primal fear response created a moment of sheer panic. Rough hands grabbed and threw him to the ground, securing him while he was kicked and beaten by fists and hard-toed boots, subduing his struggles until his hands and feet were bound with heavy rope. He tried to shout, but the sounds were muffled by the suffocating bag, and the ties pulled so tightly around his throat his total focus became the act of breathing. He was lifted, slung over someone’s broad back, and carried away.

  Rhyden retained no sense of direction. Trussed like a killed deer, he could only bounce helplessly and try to catch a breath…and then another. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably less, his captors dumped him on the hard ground.

  Ouch, dammit. His momentary panic had long since fled, and he was angry, hoping they’d remove this abominable hood and give him a chance to get in a swing or two. Somebody was going to pay for this.

  He finally realized the sounds of activity around him had ceased. He was alone. Straining to hear any small sound, Rhyden waited another minute or two for someone to return, and then set about the business of freeing himself, twisting and pulling his hands. The ropes cut into his wrists, but he made steady progress. Encouraged, he increased his efforts, ignoring the growing pain. Twist, pull. Twist, pull.

  Sometime later, one hand slipped out, and the ropes fell free. He loosened the strings at his throat as fast as his partially numb fingers could work. Finally he jerked off the suffocating hood and lay back gulping in the crisp air.

  It was dark all around him. Night had fallen with even colder temperatures, and he was in danger of exposure from the cold if he didn’t move soon. Or his assailants might yet return. He bolted upright. He wasn’t waiting around for that. He pulled the ropes off his ankles and stood, peering around.

  He was on foot in the middle of a forest. But which forest? He rubbed his arms and jumped up and down to get his circulation moving. Then he studied the rising moon and sky through the branches of the trees. Brierwood should be that way. He started walking.

  * * *

  Seth’s allotted hour in Elvenrude was almost up. The village buzzed with the attack on Merik Trevain, and he’d ascertained the man was still alive. But he hadn’t found Rhyden or even a hot trail. He’d visited relatives and scoured the village. He knew a
lot of places Rhyden wasn’t, but not one clue to where he was. He hated to leave, even to gather reinforcements. His skin crawled with an eerie feeling his cousin needed help.

  He stopped under a street lantern. What was he missing? Where had Rhyden gone from Brunic’s office?

  Seth rubbed his chin and thought about it. What would he be doing if he were in Rhyden’s shoes? If someone had set a fatal fire and nearly burned Kam to death, he’d be looking for the killer. Seth nodded grimly. Rhyden was after Kurzi Everins.

  So where would that lead him?

  Backtracking to open shops and pubs, even strangers on the street, he asked if anyone had seen Everins that day. Not one positive response. But he learned others had sought the same information—the King’s Guard…and a man in a dark cloak last seen outside Keiley’s pub.

  His mouth curled in a grim smile. Rhyden.

  Seth entered the dimly lit tavern, ignored the unfriendly looks, and scanned the room. He hadn’t expected to find him, but he felt a twinge of disappointment anyway. He left without speaking to the barkeep. No one in that area of the village would give the correct time of day to an Elite elf.

  Assuming Everins showed and Rhyden followed him—big assumptions, but what else did he have?—where would they go from there? The rogue leader had ridden away on horseback the night Kam located him. Is that what happened this evening? If so, they could be anywhere in the surrounding farms, forests, or even the foothills and mountains.

  Seth clenched his jaw in frustration. Too big a search to do alone. He was already overdue in New Orleans. The others would help…and maybe he’d recruit Captain Brunic. If Rhyden had been injured or captured, temporary incarceration on false charges would be better than what a rogue band of killers might do.

  He walked briskly toward the guild’s portal and skirted the edge of town to pick up a shortcut. That’s when he saw the drunk stumble out of the woods.

  He watched the man’s unsteady progress. There was something vaguely familiar… By the gods. He took off running, quickly closing the distance. “Rhyden?”

  The man lifted his head and limped toward him. “Hey, cuz, about time you found me. I’ve been walking forever.”

  “What happened?” Seth grabbed his cousin’s shoulders. “How badly are you hurt? Who did this?”

  “I don’t know. Just get me out of Elvenrude before they find us.”

  * * *

  When Seth and Rhyden arrived at the Lormarc Guild on the New Orleans side, Seth immediately spotted Kam and Esty running toward them. He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

  “Another fifteen minutes, and we were coming after you.” Kam looked at Rhyden and pushed them back into the portal. “Let’s go to our apartment.”

  In the light of Kam and Seth’s kitchen, Esty finally noticed Rhyden’s injuries. “Oh, your hands. They’re raw and bleeding. Who did this?” Her forehead wrinkled in distress. “They must hurt awfully.”

  “Not as much as my ribs,” he said, moving gingerly toward the kitchen table with Seth supporting him. “Can I just sit a minute?”

  Kam disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared with a first aid kit. “Esty, you might as well help me. If you’re going to hang around with Lormarc men, you better get used to patching up their injuries.”

  Esty proved to be an excellent healer. Gentle, sure-handed, and no-nonsense. “You are not all right,” she declared when Rhyden balked at removing his shirt in front of her, and she didn’t blush when she finally tugged it off, revealing his bare chest.

  While Rhyden’s bruises and cuts were cleaned and treated with elven salve, Seth prepared honey tea and shoved two herbal painkillers into Rhyden’s free hand. “Once you’ve taken these, the ribs should be tolerable, then you can tell us what happened.”

  Esty bent over her patient. “The pills will make you feel better, but your ribs will heal faster if they also get a dose of this.” She held out the can of salve. “Hold out your arms, so I can reach them.”

  “What? No. I can put it on myself.” He dipped his fingers in and smeared ointment over his rib cage. “I can do this just fine.”

  “You can’t reach your back.” She scooped a glob into her hands and slathered it on his back, rubbing it deep into the skin.

  Rhyden closed his eyes at her touch, and Seth turned away to hide a smile. He caught Kam’s equally amused look, and they retreated to the far counter to fix coffee. She opened the cabinet and retrieved the bag of beignets they’d brought back from their shopping trip.

  Once the coffee was ready, and Rhyden’s pain pills had kicked in, Kam and Seth returned to the kitchen table while Rhyden related his misadventure in Elvenrude.

  “It was Kurzi Everins and his gang,” Esty declared when he’d finished.

  “Yeah, I suppose so. He must have spotted me. But how did he arrange the ambush? They were waiting, just seconds after he disappeared down that path.”

  “He told someone back at the pub.” Seth narrowed his eyes. “It could be more than a casual meeting place. Maybe we need someone to get a job on the inside. If Merik recovers—” He suddenly remembered Sawyer Ryndel had brought them the news of the stabbing. “Where’d your father go?”

  “Her father was here?” Rhyden straightened, then winced and rubbed his side. “If Merik recovers from what?”

  Uh-huh. Seth noted he’d asked about Esty’s father first. Rhyden was fighting a losing battle with himself.

  “Our father went home,” Kam said. “He was afraid Mother would be worrying. I promised to stop by the house or send him a note if we found Rhyden, which I’ll do right now.” She pushed away from the table.

  While she was gone, Seth explained what they knew about the attack on Merik, Sawyer’s arrival in New Orleans, and Captain Brunic’s suspicions.

  “Holy hell. I was only gone a couple hours.”

  “More than a couple. You’d already been missing at least that long when I went to Elvenrude two hours ago.”

  “I wasn’t really missing most of the time. I was looking for Everins. But I might have been in the woods longer than I thought.”

  “You were out of contact long enough to make your absence look suspicious and send Brunic looking for the wrong man.”

  “Is that why his attackers left him alive?” Kam asked, returning to the table after sending the message to Elvenrude. “Because they needed someone to place the blame on?”

  “Kam, that’s an awful thing to say.” Esty tightened her lips at her sister’s bluntness.

  “Well, I wondered about it too,” Rhyden said. “I thought it was a warning, and they didn’t want the hue and cry from another murder. But maybe it was more than that. A scapegoat for murder?”

  “Not a very good one.” Kam eyed his obvious rope burns.

  “Unless he’d healed by the time Brunic caught up with him,” Esty added. “Then it would only be his word.”

  Rhyden shrugged and licked powdered sugar from his lips. “I even considered they were under the mistaken impression Uncle Jermon would object to them killing a Lormarc.”

  “Not if they knew him well,” Seth said.

  “Very true. Whatever their reason, I applaud it.” Rhyden took a sip of hot tea and grinned. “This would taste better with a little bourbon.” He set it down, and his humor faded. “Have you had an update on Merik’s condition?”

  Kam spoke up. “When I sent the note to Father, Barrott said Merik’s condition hasn’t changed. We should know more by morning, but I think it’s a good sign he’s made it this long.”

  “He’s strong,” Rhyden said. “I admit he’s grown on me, and I think we need him to help put an end to the rebel violence.”

  “I’d say Jermon agrees with you and ordered Merik’s death.” Seth set his coffee down. “We’d never heard of Everins until recently. I don’t believe he’s bold enough to initiate the recent attacks without Jermon’s guiding hand. If we could cut off the contact, Everins would be on his own.”

  “And mig
ht make a mistake,” Esty finished. She looked at Kam. “Can’t you find out who’s gone through the portal or sent messages?”

  “Sure. They’re all recorded. We’ve already checked all of the visitors, but going through messages would be a huge job. There are thousands in one week, most of them related to private guild business.”

  “Isn’t that something I could do?” Esty asked. “Surely even Father would approve of a desk job.”

  Seth immediately championed the idea before Rhyden or Kam issued a veto. “I don’t see why not. As long as you’re OK with tying up your time that way.” It sounded like the perfect solution. Esty would be out of trouble and where Kam could keep an eye on her. And Rhyden—whose pretended indifference wasn’t fooling anyone except maybe Esty—could stop obsessing over the next risk she’d take.

  “Someone should do it, and no one else in Elvenrude is privy to our business terms and practices. They wouldn’t recognize what’s normal and what’s not. If I can’t figure it out, I can ask questions at the guilds without trade secrets going outside our families. The rest of you will be too busy chasing Jermon and Everins.” Her enthusiasm faded. “I’d rather be doing that too.”

  “You will be,” Kam said. “Just in a different way.”

  “Yeah, out of the action.” Esty lifted her chin. “But I’ll do it. I’ll surprise you all and find the leak.”

  Rhyden shifted his shoulders in obvious discomfort, and Seth suggested they end the evening. When his cousin nodded and rose, Seth accompanied him to the portal. Rhyden seemed unusually subdued. “You OK or you need me to tuck you in?”

  Rhyden flashed him a grin. “And a bedtime story? No, I can manage. All I need is a goodnight’s sleep. Tomorrow I’ll have to talk with Brunic…again. And hold back nothing this time.”

  “I’ll go with you, but I’m not sure you should confess all. Let’s have coffee in the morning and go over exactly what to tell him. There are still parts—about Esty in particular—he never needs to know.”